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Two similar irrevocable trust

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Senior

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Kentucky

I have an irrevocable trust established several years ago, setup for a special needs beneficiary. Recently, an attorney has drafted a very similar irrevocable trust. The older trust was basically unfunded (10 dollars). My new Will now directs funding only the new trust.

Trustee will only have a copy of the new trust at my passing. My concern is whether trustee could, in any way, be governed by the existence of the old trust?

If so, would funding the trust before my passing eliminate such concerns.

Thank you for any advice
 
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latigo

Senior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Kentucky

I have an irrevocable trust established several years ago, setup for a special needs beneficiary. Recently, an attorney has drafted a very similar irrevocable trust. The older trust was basically unfunded (10 dollars). My new Will now directs funding only the new trust.

Trustee will only have a copy of the new trust at my passing. My concern is whether trustee could, in any way, be governed by the existence of the old trust?

If so, would funding the trust before my passing eliminate such concerns.

Thank you for any advice
I think you have too much idle time, spent too much of it with the wrong lawyer, and haven't used enough of it to intelligently think this through.

Example, how would leaving Trust #1 essentially barren and transferring funds into Trust #2 ease your worries about the mental ability of the trustee to distinguish the two?

Also, it being your apparent desire to have all/some of you estate administered through a trust rather than directly distributed to the beneficiaries, why didn't your attorney recommend creating a separate testamentary trust by means of your will? Not much room for confusion there.
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Kentucky

I have an irrevocable trust established several years ago, setup for a special needs beneficiary. Recently, an attorney has drafted a very similar irrevocable trust. The older trust was basically unfunded (10 dollars). My new Will now directs funding only the new trust.

Trustee will only have a copy of the new trust at my passing. My concern is whether trustee could, in any way, be governed by the existence of the old trust?

If so, would funding the trust before my passing eliminate such concerns.

Thank you for any advice
Why the need to establish the new trust?

I can see a potential problem with two irrevocable trusts, depending on the actual wording of both trusts. However, you apparently have an attorney and your questions should be directed at that attorney. Hopefully you discussed the old trust with the attorney before he/she drew up the new trust?
 

justalayman

Senior Member
actually, 2 or 200 trusts aren't going to make a lick of difference. It will be your will that will determine where the assets of your estate go. The trustee has no control over your estate so s/he cannot screw up anything as far as putting money in the wrong trust because the trustee has no control of the money until it is in the trust.



Trustee will only have a copy of the new trust at my passing. My concern is whether trustee could, in any way, be governed by the existence of the old trust?

how would the trustee of the new trust be governed by a trust they are not the trustee of? Simple answer; they can't be. They are empowered to control the assets of the trust they are the trustee for. They can neither control the disposition of the assets of your estate nor control anything regarding the older trust.

as latigo said:

I think you have too much idle time, spent too much of it with the wrong lawyer, and haven't used enough of it to intelligently think this through.
 

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